Dear so and so

Dear Arizona Department of Econimic Security,
Thank you for denying me and my husband some help paying for food. The only problem I have is that you denied me because you say that my houshold income exceeds your limit, but I told you how much I make back on November 18th and I just found out I was denied yesterday. But lets not forget that you also made me fax in a bunch of information two different times and THEN you teased me and made me think I was approved by sending me a card with my name on it for food stamps when you knew you were going to deny me. Then you asked me to come in to your office and get my finger scanned in. Gee thanks!!
I completely understand that there are a lot of people out there who really do need assistance which I fully support! But I need to support my husband through school and pay my bills and have some fun and occasionally eat. And I am working really hard! I go to work 40 hours a week and I am very good at my job! I think it would be really nice if the state would reward its dilligent residents.
-Kayla

Dear kid that stood in front of my car pretending I was going to run him over,
It wasn't funny. Next time, you might not be so lucky. You should be happy you are still alive.
-Kayla

Dear Sun,
I hate you. Please go away. Seriously. Maybe its time you purchased a calender. It's December.
-Kayla

Dear Kyle,
Thank you for being an AWESOME husband. I love coming home to see you everyday! You're the greatest. I LOVE YOU!
-Kayla

A Christmas Message...

I wrote this on Christmas Eve and forgot to post it!! AHHH! So excuse the random posting, but it is a good one =)

It's 11:00 on Christmas Eve and I am still awake... why? I don't know. So I decided to update m blog! I don't really know what to say though... hmmm...

Well I guess that I will just say that I am grateful for my Savior. I know that everyone is raised differently and everyone has different personalities but I so wish that every person could feel the peace that comes from always knowing that you are never alone or forsaken. I heard one of my favorite Christmas songs today. The first is Away in A Manger. The last verse:

"Be near me Lord Jesus I ask the to stay. Close by me forever and love me I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for Heaven to live with thee there."

I love the feeling of comfort I get when I think of my Father in Heaven. I love that He is always trying to help me be a better person and that He never gives up on me, even when I might be a little reluctant to do all that I am asked to do.

"I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it" <-- SOOOO true!

Well I hope you all have an AMAZING Christmas and that you don't forget the real reason for the season - Our Savior, Jesus Christ! And that you let the season last the whole year round!

Something Fun!

Dear Santa,
For Christmas this year I only need a few things and they are practical gifts so if you could please please please help me out that would be wonderful!
First off I would like help paying for my husbands tuition. We have already applied for help from FAFSA and I am very grateful for any help we get from them. The problem is that they are really slow and taking forever to let us know if we are approved. I'm not asking for someone to hand me a million dollars cash (although I wouldn't say no to that) but maybe you could talk to my boss at work and see if he wants to give me a raise. Or maybe there is someone that you know that is looking to sponser an adorable couple like us. I'm even willing to pay back loans! I am just looking for a little help in this situation...
Next I would like to ask for a roach killer that actually works. It would be very useful as my apartment seems to attract them. They were gone for a while and I'm not sure how they came back but any help on this would be nice. I'm tired of shoving things out of the way and tearing up my house to catch those speedy little boogers! And also everytime I go to the bathroom I'm afraid that all the ones we've flushed are going to come crawling up and take me back down with them! (gross I know, but its true)
Lastly I was hoping that you could take my addiction to chocolate away. I love it too much. Perhaps make me addicted to vegatables? or fruit? I like them both but chocolate is so deluctable I just can't seem to get over it! No matter how hard I try!
Sincerely,
Kayla
P.S. Thank you for all the gifts you have brought me throughout the years. I may not have always realized the true meaning of christmas but I do now and I think I have learned the great and wonderful gift of giving!

This is a conversation that I had with my sister a few weeks ago. She was at home from school sick one day...

Aubree: Can you text the police when you're in danger?
Kayla: Haha I don't know... I doubt it!
Aubree: Oh. That would be weird if you couldn't because then you have to make noise to get a hold of them.
Kayla: Are you in danger?
Aubree: No I was just thinking about if I were in danger that's all. I'm not at all in danger.
Kayla: Well, the cops aren't on cell phones, they're on land lines so you can't text them... I guess you could call them so you are connected and they can track you just don't say anything so it's quiet?
Aubree: I could but mom is coming home for lunch so she'll be here soon...
Aubree: Wait. what?
Kayla: If you are in danger and can't make noise, call 911 so you are connected with them and they can track your phone call and the location it came from and save you
Aubree: Oh. I didn't know that. Well that will come in handy =)
Kayla: Haha, yes I guess that will come in handy if you're ever in danger.

Made me laugh a lot!!

Today me and Kyle emerged from our cozy apartment. We went Christmas caroling with Heidi Ray-Zuniga her hubby Ben. Also Danae and John Zuniga. Jocelyn Boynton, Kaitlin Gray and I forget his name! dang it... but he was cool and from India! Heidi's dad drove us and then her brother was our door bell ringer! I haven't been caroling in years! It was really fun, and almost cold out! haha
Then we played a game around the fire, had hot chocolate and watched Heidi and Ben's baby Eli try to crawl. Super cute! I want one! =)
It was a really fun time and I was happy to get out of here!! (not that I don't love an apartment with roaches and no water for 8 hours of the day; really its great)
Anywho, I'm excited for Saturday when we are going to go out into the world again! YAY!

My Giraffe Mug!

This weekend has been a lot of fun!
Friday night we had my works Christmas party. it was in Tempe at the Top of the Rock restaurant. SOOOO cool and pretty and nice! Sometimes I wish that I was high up on the business ladder so I could go to fancy places like this, but then I remember that if I frequently went to fancy places they would become boring and normal and I wouldn't appreciate it as much, so I changed my mind!
We got free valet parking! Which was sweet! We were supposed to tip the valet-ers (I don't know what to call those guys) but they didn't do a good enough job to be tipped. We were the 2nd people out there to hand them our card and yet, more than half of the people left before we did. I guess they labeled our tag wrong. So being poor married kids, we decided to save our $1 (that was all we had in cash) and save it for a rainy day. But if it hadn't taken so long, it would have been pretty nifty! Except I don't know if I would actually ever pay someone to do a job that I could do myself!
We got home around 10:30 and checked the mail. She's the Man came so we watched that! I don't get to stay up late much (ever) cause of work so if I can stay up past 9 than I like to!
Saturday morning we decided to go do some Christmas shopping (not that we actually have money) but we didn't want to be at home all day. So we went and deposited my bonus check and then went to the 99 cent store for fun... Then we stopped by my parents house to have lunch and to help cook gingerbread for our gingerbread houses we are going to decorate on Monday. we were there for like 4 hours and it was fun. I love hanging with my family!
Then we hit up Ross and In N Out. This is what we got at Ross:

ITS A SURPRISE IN A MUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kyle has one with a cow in it. Giraffes are my favorite animals. This is the most legit mug I have ever owned. I love it more than anything! (except for a lot of things that I actually love more than this mug) But you get the point. It is awesome! and now I have a hot chocolate mug! Which me and Kyle have become addicted to hot chocolate these days. (not that its cold here at all)

So we got home and prepared our lesson for Sunday school class (we teach the 14 - 15 year olds) and while preparing we had a brilliant idea! So we had to go to WalMart. And I do love going to WalMart at 11:00 at night!

So as we were driving through the apartment parking lot we saw a police car parked off to the side with no cop in it. Kind of weird. But whatever! so we go to WalMart and then on our way back we saw the same cop car but parked behind it was a Ferensic van!! It said some thing like "ferensic crime scene investigation unit" (or something similar to that) So I was like freakin out of my mind!

I convinced Kyle to go on a 'walk' with me. I NEEDED to see more! He wasn't gonna go with me because he was afraid we would get stopped for questioning. I told him that we wouldn't and even if we did we would just say we are on a walk. How would they know that we had seen them parked. It's not like their lights were on or caution tape was up anywhere. So we finally went for the walk and saw the ferensic unit going up the stairs. We stopped to look and then we saw a BUNCH of flashes!! So they were taking pictures!

At this point in time I was totally freaking myself out! but its like a spider that you smash with a book; you know it's going to be disgusting but you have to look and make sure its really dead. So I made Kyle walk around again but we didn't see anything else exciting. So I made him go with me to walk in front of the apartment!! He was wimping out. But I don't have anything to hide! So I wasn't scared of getting stopped and questioned.

Anyway, it turned out to be super lame and I still don't know what happened. Then on top of that I dreamed that this girl stabbed her husband in the apartment and then I hung out with her the next day. Lame. And now I can't stop thinking about it and I'm scared. Double lame.

On a happier note our lesson today was about Temples. When I taught Sunbeams we made temples out of marshmallows and toothpicks... so that is what we had to go to WalMart for. I wish I had taken my camera to show you what they looked like. Our class loves us and I think word is spreading through the ward that we're super legit teachers. Nailed it.

Also I somehow ended up playing the flute part for the ward choir. I don't know how that happened but I'm secretly excited. The only problem is that I haven't played in about 3 years and I wasn't even that good to begin with... So it's been interesting but me and Kyle went to choir today and I also think that Kyle secretly enjoyed it even though he swears he didn't.

Lastly we had a family christmas party for my moms side. We ate first, then played a little present game - I won a giant Christmas coloring book and jumbo crayons! (which I just realized I forgot to grab... hmmm, bummer. Then we played a little Kareoke. Me and Kyle rocked the house first with a little Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer... we were awesome!

And now it's 9:30 and I'm gonna go to bed.

thanks for following my blog! It makes me feel like a star! =)

Growing up my parents didn't let us watch TV much. Sometimes it seemed pretty unfair, but I am very grateful for it now.
Kyle's family was sort of the opposite. They loved to watch TV!
Now that we are married and poor though I find myself watching lots of movies! Which I never thought would happen... I think I have - scratch that - I know I have watched more movies in the last 6 months than I have in my whole life!
So I decided to make a list of me and Kyles favorite movies! Kyle likes all of these movies but I am putting which ones he just watches cause I pick them and the ones the he would actually pick out to watch. They are in no particular order...

1. The Princess and the Frog (both)
2. The Hannah Montana Movie (Kayla)
3. Hot Rod (both)
4. The Last Song (Kayla)
5. Bride Wars (Kayla)
6. Tangled (both)
7. Elf (both)
8. Enchanted (Kayla)
9. Up (both)
10. Hairspray (both)
11. She's the Man (both)
12. Monsters vs. Aliens (both)
13. Kung Fu Panda (both)
14. Avatar the Last Air Bender (both)
15. Ella Enchanted (both)
16. Harriet the Spy (Kayla)
17. Remember the Titans (both)
18. Mall Cop (both)
19. A Knights Tale (both)
20. The Princess Bride (both)
21. The Italian Job (both)
22. Sweet Home Alabama (Kayla)
23. 27 Dresses (Kayla)
24. Wall E (both)
25. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (both)
26. Bolt (both)
27. Newsies (Kayla)
28. Meet the Robinsons (both)
29. The Emperors New Groove (both)
30. Matilda (both)
31. Napolean Dynamite (both)
32. Fun With Dick and Jane (both)
33. The Road to El Dorado (both)
34. The Prince of Egypt (both)
35. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Kayla)
36. The Swan Princess (both)
37. Mamma Mia (both)
38. A Little Princess (Kayla)
39. Kate and Leopold (both)
40. Hitch (both)
41. The Notebook (Kayla)
42. A Cinderella Story (both)
43. Sahara (both)
44. The Phantom of the Opera (both)
45. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (both)
46. Ever After (Kayla)
47. Hercules (both)
48. The Lord of the Rings 1-3 (Kyle)
49. Toy Story 1-3 (both)
50. How to Train Your Dragon (both)
51. Monsters Inc (both)
52. Titanic (both)
53. Despicable Me (both)
54. Harry Potter 1 - 7 (both)
55. Series of Unfortunate Events (both)
56. Cars (both)
57. The Princess Bride (both)
58. Zoolander (Kyle)
59. A Christmas Story (Kyle)
60. The Devil Wears Prada (Kyle - yes, Kyle)

So thats my list... I've probably left out a few that I've forgotten about but you get the point!

Pictures from my story!

Here are a few more pictures from all my stories!

Our view from our window in HAWAII

Disn3yland for my birthday!
Also Disneyland

Minnie and Mickey

I went to Hogwarts! This is my ring!

This is the cup I wanted to buy from the Budweiser Factory

The mermaid statues!

The guy making fudge!

The fish pond!

The cool mall that we went to

PAIN!!

So again, I won't go into a lot of details cause that would be a lot of writing! But if anyone wants to know more than I will be glad to tell you! Just ask!
The last couple days I was in Missouri for V-Day weekend, we did a few more exciting things which included: Mallory's swim meet (which they won); A friends basketball game (which they also won); Visited the Budweiser Brewery factory with Kyle's friend Katie (she was cool); And this random mall thing that had a guy making fudge where everyone could stand and watch. Plus there was a frozen pond with giant goldfish in it. And another empty fountain thing that had big naked mermaid statues...
So the next time I would get to see Kyle was in March over spring break. His (well, I guess mine too) family drove down for the week. Activities of that week included: a little wedding planning, apartment looking, engagement picture taking, bonfireing, kissing (I know, its weird that I Kayla Jean Jarvis (at the time) actually kissed a boy! haha) and just loads of fun stuff with my fiance!
After they left that week the next visit we would have was my birthday weekend. Kyle flew down Friday afternoon (April 2nd my b-day) and we drove to California to stay with his grandparents. Saturday we woke up and went to Disneyland!! Sunday (Easter) we had breakfast with the family and then opened our easter basket. Then left to drive home to get Kyle off to the airport. Yes, it was a very short trip... which was OK. Except I wish we had waited a few more weekends to go for the next month and a half would be the longest we would be apart without any visits and also the most painful time of my WHOLE ENTIRE life... and I'm not even exagerating.
He was supposed to leave the 13th of May but then it became the 15th of May and then he found out that he had one more class final that he HAD to take on the 17th of May and so he actually did not arrive until the 19th of May.
I was at work when he arrived in this terribly hot land known as Arizona. He came by to say hi and HE BROUGHT ME FLOWERS!!!!!!!!!!!! What a freaking cutie pie! I love that boy...
So then I was super happy because we would now be together forever!
There were 23 days left until our wedding at this point...
I took out my endowments on June 9th. My mom was my escort. My parents, Kyles parents, our grandparents, my friend Ashley and Sam came, my sister Angela was there... I'm sorry if I left other people out! It was a wonderful wonderful WONDERFUL experience and I loved every moment of it! I wish (and hope) that everyone someday can experience the joy, peace, contentment, love from my Savior and happiness that I felt that day.
So I had lots of family in town - which was great! Thursday while we were setting up for the reception the Draegers arrived. When I saw and hugged Danielle I started crying!! I love my husband but sometimes you just need someone else who understands you thats been there for you through thick and thin...
We were married on Friday, June 11th at 3:00. My family and Kyle's family were there to support us and I was so grateful to see them all there for me and Kyle.
Again, I hope that someday everyone can experience the peace that is found in the temple. I wouldn't have changed a temple marriage for anything else. The blessings of the temple are things that you can't buy. The promise to spend the rest of your life and eternity together, if you really love your husband/wife, why wouldn't you want to spend forever together?
Anyway, I left the temple that day as Kayla Gonthier. Sealed to my husband for forever!
We got to go to Hawaii on our honeymoon. a SUPER relaxing time. best week ever. I want to go back to Hawaii so bad.......
So anyway, married life is awesome. If I think of other things to add then I will... but for now, this is the end of my fairytale!
Except my fairytale will really last FOREVER!!!!

The Proposal

Everyone at work had been guessing on my engagment date for about 5 months now. When I told everyone that I was going to be in MO over Valentines Day weekend they all basically knew that it was going to happen then. I figured it would but I also kept the possibility in mind that he might not propose then. Plus I knew for a fact that he hates Valentines Day so I was pretty much basically positive that he wouldn't do it then. (and also I hoped he wouldn't cause V-day was on Sunday and then we couldn't have gone to dinner!!)
So I get on the plane to go to Missouri! I was very very excited to see Kyle because at this point I knew I was in love (we went down that path in December... I said it first! =) Go me!) And we had only seen each other 11 days total. Since the last time he left we had talked on the phone every single night! So he picked me up from the airport (Thursday night) and we went home! I was so excited to see everyone! and they were excited to see me! I am just going to tell the proposal part cause I honestly don't remember what happened Thursday or Friday.
So before I even got to Missouri - like 2 weeks before - we had talked about things we could do while I was there. I had just recently discovered how amazing Texas Road House is (I'd only been there once) and told Kyle we needed to go there as well. I had said I wanted to go see the St Louis Temple too and Kyle said there was a cool part of the Missouri river we could go walk by. So when he told me on Saturday morning that we were going to go do these three things it didn't even cross my mind that he might propose.
So we headed out!
We went to the river first - it was very pretty!! Plus there was snow! I love snow! We had to walk through a bunch of trees to get to a point that sort of ended and went into a small cliff like thing. It was cool. I think someday I will go back there... No, I know someday I will go back there!
Next we headed to the Temple. I had to go pee really bad and Kyle asked if we should go home. I figured there would be a place at the temple to go to the bathroom. I was wrong. But I just decided to hold it again...
So we get out and start walking to the temple. We just got to the sidewalk when Kyle said he forgot something. He told me to stay there so I did! He ran back to the car and came back. Then we started walking around. I threw snow on him and we had a mini snow ball fight! Then we kept walking. We ended up at the front side of the temple and sat on a bench. He told me to close my eyes. So I did! It still didn't really cross my mind he might propose - I think I was just so excited about the snow that I was a little distracted! Anyway I heard him tap his feet a few times but could still feel his presence next to me so I asked what he was doing. He said "just makin sure you aren't peeking!" He got up and came back and told me to open my eyes.
There I saw 3 roses! Then I was pretty sure he was going to propose but I still don't think the reality of it had actually hit me yet! He told me that one rose represented our past, since we've known each other so long. One represented the present, since we were dating. And the last represented our future, because he was going to ask me to marry him!
Then the bench was suuuper cold so we got up to walk around. As we were walking we talked about why we would get married in the temple, why it was important to us. Then we were at the back so he stopped and said that he thought it would be a good idea if we did get married. Then he got on one knee and asked if I would marry him. And I said yes!
Well then we left to go to Texas Road House. But I still had to pee and Kyle forgot the coupon for something at Texas Road House. So we decided to run home real quick and then go back. Well as it turns out, the night before V-Day is a bad night to go out to dinner and we should have stopped by Texas Road House and then went home and then gone back to eat because turns out there was a 2 hour wait! But we were determined to eat there! So when we stopped by home we walked in and everyone looked at us with these expressions that said "OMG I think you are engaged but I don't want to say anything in case he hasn't proposed yet!" So I held up my hand and the roses and they all jumped up and down and attacked me! I LOVED IT! I LOVE MY NEW FAMILY! And then Tracey came up and gave us a list of questions we needed to answer for planning the wedding. Kyle was like "MOM! we haven't even been engaged for an hour!" haha... gotta love moms! they are always on top of things!
So we went to Texas Road House and put in our reservations and then went and got taquitos from QT to hold us off and then went and hung out at WalMart for an hour. We basically just sat at the bottom of the bookshelf. haha it was great! I love WalMart! Well it was fabulous and I couldn't stop looking at my ring! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday was V-Day. We went to church and got to show off my ring. That was fun! I was very very glad to show off my sparkly diamonds!
I gave Kyle his present which was a really big key. I wrote him a poem that explained why I loved him and that this was the key to my heart. It is basically the coolest poem ever!! Some friends came over for dinner and that was awesome! And then we were all hanging out and somehow I got recruited to do the Hannah Montana dance to the Hoe Down Throw Down. Everyone thought it was really cool! =)
So the whole trip went VERY well and I think it was one of the best trips ever! I totally would go back to that weekend again! A million times over and over again!
I love love love my fiance (husband now).
So close to the end! I promise!

• PAIN!
• The Wedding!
• ???

Can you say, "Boyfriend?"

I'd like to dedicate this next post to my dear brother Colon, for without him I don't know how Kyle would have ever gotten up the courage to ask me to be his girlfriend, let alone his wife! So Colin, even though I was furious at you for a while I am now over it and I love you! =)
So we got home and life went on as normal and it was actually easy not to think of Kyle too much...
Wait...
Sorry I shouldn't lie.
It was actually impossible to not think about Kyle and anyone who was around me at the time will be able to testify that I didn't talk about anything but Kyle.
I'm not going to go into day to day details. We got home Tuesday night and then basically what happened over the next month was we would talk on the phone almost every other night.
Actually, let me rephrase that. I talked to Kyle almost every other night.
Wait, let me be more specific. Kyle is a very good listener and I like to talk a lot, therefore we are perfect for each other. =)
On Thursday I get a text from my dear cousin Danielle that says: "A RELATIONSHIP???? What? Why don't I know about this yet?"
And I was soooo confused. I called her and she's like you changed your relationship on Facebook to 'In A Relationship with Kyle Gonthier' and I was like no I didn't. So I get on facebook and apparently I did!
I called Kyle next and asked him if he was the one that requested it and he told me that he just got on facebook and it was there so he accepted it! So we agreed that we liked it and left it.
But actually I did not request the relationship. I found out that my brother Colin snuck into my room, onto my computer, into my account and requested to be in a relationship with Kyle. I was not the happiest sister in the world... but now it is fine.
Kyle planned a trip to come December 26th. He left Christmas afternoon and drove straight through with his sister Mallory. Best. CHRISTMAS. Present. EVER.
Well over the next month I would go through a RANG of emotions that I had never even knew I had in me before. I was twitterpated, anxious, curious, confused, excited, happy, scared, worried, joyous, heartbroken, sad, amazed, humbled, jubilant, glad and then according to my parents, I was in love!
I won't go into all the details because honestly I can't even explain 99% of what I felt. But in the end I learned to trust in the Lord. To turn to him when I was hurt and to turn to him in gratitude when I was happy. I was able to go to my parents for guidance and get fathers blessings from my daddy!
Kyle and his sister, Mallory, got here after Christmas. They were here for the whole week. We did a lot of fun things. One of those fun things was we randomly went and looked at engagement rings one day cause we were bored and my mom suggested it. So that was cool...
I definitely knew at this point in time that I would say yes if he got on his knee and asked me to marry him - although that was a scary thing to think about! We had a great week and I wish I could go back to that week sometimes because sometimes I miss the adventure of dating! But then again, this being married thing rocks!
I'm gonna take a break now but tune in next time for The Proposal!

My First (Half) Kiss!!

...After we went inside from cuddling on the porch we played catch phrase with everyone that was there. we sat boy-girl-boy-girl and Devin is lucky he is a boy cause him and Kyle would have had to fight over me! After the game we started watching Madagascar 2 - which is pretty good - but then it was decided that the guest were going to go home as it was semi-late.
Devin, Kassidi and Mallory were all sent upstairs to get ready for bed (they had school Monday). Tracey and Grandma Hanes were sitting on a chair in the living room while me and Kyle were cuddling on the couch trying to watch Elf. I say trying because it was difficult to hear over their planning christmas presents for all the kids. So eventually we kicked them out of the family room and sent them to bed. Which left me and Kyle alone - finally!
We finished watching Elf and put in Monsters vs Aliens (a top ten favorite of mine). After that we put in Hot Rod... so at this point it was about 2:00 in the morning and everyone had been asleep since about 10:30.
So if you are wondering when the first time a boy ever kissed me was then it was this night during Hot Rod and it was on my cheek and I was halfway asleep. But I remember it and it was the best part of the whole trip! My first kiss(ish) =)
Anyway, after the movie fest was over we stayed up for another two hours talking and cuddling and he showed me pictures from his mission and told me more stories. And then we were talking some more and were about to go to bed when he asks if I want to go to the gym with him tomorrow... My response: "Uhhh, I'm on vacation. I don't work out at home, why would I work out now? besides I don't have tennis shoes." And he still tried to convince me and in the end I convinced him that there would be no working out on vacation.
So we went to sleep.
The next morning I woke up and got ready. By the time I had come downstairs Kyle was already gone to the gym, but had only been gone for about 10 minutes. So I put in Madagascar 2 so I could finish watching it and have something to keep my mind off Kyles absence. Well Kyle's mom has always made a Thankful Tree for the month of November. Basically she cuts out a tree and then TONS of leaves from paper. Then everyday you are supposed to put a leaf on the tree with something on it that you are thankful for. Even if you are a guest in the house or just over to hang out for a few hours you put a leaf on the tree. So she enlisted my help to cut out leaves.
Now, as you woman know we are very good multi-taskers. I can sit on the floor, watch Madagascar 2, cut out paper leaves, not think of Kyle and carry on a conversation with everyone around me. Thats simple! But my dear father decided that I needed to turn off the T.V. and sit at the table to cut out leaves while we planned what we were going to do for Trev's birthday. So reluctantly I turned off my distraction device and went to the table to cut leaves and make a plan.
The Birthday Boy!
At this point in time it had been about an hour and half since Kyle had left. And we had just finished making our plans which included bowling, arcade games and the mini go cart track racing. My dad kept trying to get us all ready to go but I was freaking out becasue Kyle still hadn't come home! I mean really, how long does it take to work out? I can be done in 30 minutes! He had been gone an hour and a half now and we were trying to get ready to leave! I was freaking out inside! I thought for sure we weren't going to wait for and then I would have to decide between him (without seeming desperate) and Trevor, the birthday boy! But didn't want to seem desperate or needy so I just kept my mouth shut...
Well he finally got home about 15 minutes later so he was gone for a total of about 2 hours... I later found out that he was super nervous to talk to me and so he swam a little, he lifted weights, he ran a little, lifted a few more weights ya know just taking his time so he didn't have to talk to me in front of his family cause it made him nervous. I also found out later that I was the first girlfriend he ever 'brought home' cause he knew his family would make fun of him and embarrass him in front of a girl so that probably didn't help his nerves either... anyway, he got home and got ready and then we went bowling then to the arcade.

Oh side note! I forgot to mention that his parents kept pulling me aside and asking if I was having a good time (which I was) because they felt like he was ignoring me. I told them that it was only when they were around that he ignored me...

I could go into more details about this day but basically we were gone from 1:00 to 5:00 and Kyle said approximately 15 words to me the whole day... which was super weird because the night before had been full of conversation! I basically kept thinking that he didn't like me anymore cause I didn't want to go to the gym with him and I figured that our relationship was over, if you can even call it a relationship! =)

Ok, so my family can attest to this: I am a seat belt stickler. One of my biggest fears is getting in a car accident and I will be as annoying as possible until you put on your seatbelt. So we get in the car to go home and me and Kyle got in the back. I got in first and when he got in he laid down and put his head on my leg - Literally the first acknowledgement that I was a cute girl that he like ALL DAY! But in order to be laying down he couldn't have a seat belt on so I had this inner argument for about 10 minutes whether I should make him sit up and buckle up or not. In the end I decided that I needed him to stay there for my own sanity as well as his.

.........Geeze this story is WAY longer than it seemed it would be!...........

So that night was FHE. Tracey gave the lesson on thankfulness and then we all got a leaf or more and wrote something on them - I had four leaves and a plan! - Then we went around and said what we were thankful for. Mine went something like this:

1. My parents (in general I am thankful for them but they and I both knew it was for taking me to MO and supporting me)

2. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

3. I don't remember...

4. Kyle

So everyone was like "Awwww!! how sweet!" And Kyle told me later that he felt bad that he hadn't thought of doing that. I told him it was OK, I am just smarter than him! (j/k!) Then afterwards we all went to Fritz's and hung out for a while then went to bed...

So Tuesday was our last day there and basically me and Kyle just went looking for some new clothes for him and small presents for my siblings... It was nice just to spend the day with him hanging out! We got back to the house about 40 minutes before everyone else and then once they got home we had 15 minutes left until we had to leave.

My mom had yet to pull out her camara and do a photo shoot which I thought I was going to get away with... but alas they remembered in the nick of time! So we spent the last 15 minutes taking lots of pictures...

Then we drove to the airport and we were unloading our stuff and he kissed me right in front of everyone! I was super embarrassed but its OK cause it made our parents happy becuase it was proof that we really did have a good time and my parents knew I was basically in love at that point... although I did not...

Wow... I'm so sorry this is getting longer and longer.... and I've even left out details! But remember I am not only writing this down for others to read, I want to have it written down somehwere too so I am trying to get as much down as I can!

Getting to know each other (kind of)

So Monday was Trevors birthday and he was turning 19. Well he really wanted Kyle, my parents and his grandparents to be there when he went through the temple for the first time so he was going through on Saturday.
Everyone at the temple (top: My Dad, Grandpa Hanes, Trevor, Gerard. Next Row: Aunt Yvette, Grandma Hanes, Tracey, My Mom. Bottom: Kyle (duh)) Well that was slightly lame cause that meant Kyle would be gone for several hours... So the plan for me was wake up, get the kids ready before 11:00 and drive them to The Old Spaghetti Factory where we would all meet up.

(there was one other family (the Hoyts) at the spaghetti factory with us) Mallory is the one that took this picture... Her and Marlie Hoyt were across from us. They were being funny and joking around and such. At one point Mallory said "Hey! Kyle! You could totally propose right now. This place is pretty and the food is great! You could just hide the ring in her meatball!" That was pretty funny. And the best part was that several minutes later Kyle leaned over and said he would never propose to me with the ring in my food! Unless that was the only way I'd say yes. I told him that if he put the ring in a meatball it would be a no, but if he put the ring in a big bowl of ice cream it would be a DEFINITE yes! So that was fun!

Well we went home and we basically just hung out at the house for a while. Our parents suggested to Kyle that we go see a movie so we picked one out... (I won't say what movie cause it ended up being a super lame movie and I wouldn't recommend it). Now I don't like to be late, especially to movies cause I need a seat I like to fully enjoy the movie. so the movie started at 7:30 and we were still sitting around at home at 7:00 AND we were planning on getting Fritz's which was in the opposite direction of the theater... So I was stressing out!

Well our parents were out back having a little fire so we went and sat out there for a few minutes (it was 7:05) and Tracey says: "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE??? Take this beautiful young lady out! Go park or something!" Now, if you know me, then you know I am a pretty innocent person, even though now I'm married so Kyle was embarrassed and my mom and dad were laughing and I was thinking ya! lets go park and see the movie! I was confused why she didn't say go to the movie but I thought maybe it was a term they used back in the day or something? Apparently it means go park your car somewhere secluded and make out... isn't that what parents try to discourage? Oh well!

Anyway, we finally left at like 7:15. We went and got Brown Cows from Fritz's and then went to the movie. Poor Kyle, he was so nervous! The whole movie I'm sitting there thinking "HOLD MY HAND!!" And he's sitting there thinking "I want to hold her hand but what if she rejects me!?" - I make fun of him now cause why would I have flown 1500 miles just to reject him? boys... I don't remember what happened after we got home... I think we all just went to sleep cause we had church the next morning...

So we wake up and get ready for church and Kyle was speaking in church (which I basically wrote his talk on Saturday while we laid on his bed shooting a rubberband at the sealing. Sketchy, I know) So we wanted to be 15 minutes early to make sure we all got to sit by each other. It was crazy because Kyle was sitting on the stand and people kept coming up to me and his family and saying "Oh hello! you must be Kayla!" or "I know you don't know me but I know who you are!" Then me and Mallory tried to make faces at him while he was sitting on the stand. So his talk went good and then sacrament meeting was over!

I forgot to mention that my mom woke up with a fever but had to come to church cause that was the whole reason she was there (well and for moral support). So she was feeling pretty OK after sacrament but then started to feel crummy after Sunday school - which I made Kyle a paper flower out of a cough drop wrapper which I was sucking on a cough drop because I still had a cough from getting swine in September!! digression, sorry. So the parents were trying to decide how to get my mom home so me and Kyle volunteered to take her home! So we did!

We got home and decided to watch Kung Fu Panda which neither of us had seen. So we were laying there watching it and he started to rub my knee with his finger, AMAZING! that was the first time he had physically acknowledged my presence! And I loved every second of it! Then his family got home and we had to start making dinner after Panda was over cause the Hoytes and Jewkes (another close family friend) were coming over to celebrate Trevors birth!

We ate dinner and we were probably like 10 minutes away from being done when Kyle gets up and goes down stairs without explanation... A few minutes later he came back and was dressed in Sunday clothes. Turns out he had an interview with his bishop and hadn't bothered to mention that to me! So I started freaking out cause I was going to miss him! We started cleaning up the kitchen and then a bunch of glass cups fell of the counter and broke so there was glass all over the floor! So Gerard kicked all the kids out of the kitchen and then the grown ups finished cleaning - SWEET!

Now I don't think I've mentioned this but Devin was totally obsessed with me that weekend. he followed me everywhere and always wanted to sit by me. Gosh I love that kiddo! Well I went out on the porch to call my cousin Danielle cause I needed support and distraction! After about 15 minutes Devin pops his head out and says "Kayla! you need to come in! we are playing a game! come on!" I told him I would be in, in a few minutes. then like 5 minutes later he came out again and then about 2 minutes after that my mom came out and told me that he had been looking for me the whole time I was out there and kept asking everyone where I was and was worried. She said I didn't need to come in, which was good cause I didn't want to, even though it was probably 30 degrees outside and it was raining.

Anyway, Kyle eventually got home and we cuddled on the porch bench for a minute but he was a wimp and wanted to go inside and get warm. He was cold, and I had just spent the last hour outside freezing my butt off cause I missed him.. haha

Don't worry, I am not with holding and kisses from you, they just haven't happened yet!

But my next post will include my first - EVER - kiss. =)

DISCLAIMER: I don't know if any of this makes sense but this is a LONG story and I'm trying to give all the details that I can without going into much detail about the details... or something like that...

Can you say "Awkward?"

Okie Dokie...
So Wednesday the 4th, Kyle got home. I didn't really know what to expect. I figured maybe he would call at some point but at the same time I figured he would be busy and nervous! Well at work on Friday I learned about this barber shop that serves you beer while you get your hair cut and then you can step right into the tattoo shop. I was thinking that this sounded like a pretty legit idea. So I put my status on Facebook that I was planning on going to this barber shop and asked if anyone wanted to go with me. Kyle commented on it and said "That sounds like a good idea." And that was the first contact we had after his mission. We sent a few messages back and forth but not many!
I was so excited to get to Missouri. (don't tell my boss but I don't think that I accomplished ANYTHING that week and a half before I left...) So me and my parents head to the airport Friday after I get off work. Our plane was a few minutes delayed so I treated my parents to their first Starbucks Vanilla Bean Frappacinos! They loved them!So I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. I hadn't felt nervous once! We loaded the plane. Got situated. And then the door closed.
And then my stomach dropped to the floor.
My first thought was "There is no turning back now! Oh my gosh. I need to get off this plane. Why am I doing this?" But I knew deep down inside that there was no going back and I really didn't want to!
And so begins the 3 hour flight to my future!
So I pretended to sleep the whole way there because I didn't want to talk in fear that I would throw up from anxiety and nervousness. And the flight attendant guy was also crazy so that helped keep me "asleep" the whole ride. I'm 100% positive that he was flirting with my mom, which was weird. But he was also cool cause he gave me a can of water and a whole bag of the bags of peanuts. Also he gave us these Southwest pins (like that you put on your shirt) - they were plastic though - and also a few coloring books! So I guess that even though he hit on my mom he wasn't so bad after all.
Well about 30 minutes before landing time (it was like 11:00 at this point) I started freaking out again. So I did what I always do when I am nervous or sad or scared or lonely: I squeezed my stuffed animal puppy and wrapped up in my baby blanket yellow blankie:

They've always been there for so of course I had to take them with me! Anyway... lets get on with this story.
So we get off the plane and walk to where we were going to meet them. The terrible thing about this was that they were at the bottom of the looong staircase that we had to walk down. So I am already nervous and feel awkward and I see Kyle (or at least I think its Kyle) but I can't really tell because he's looking down at his phone like he's texting or something and he has a ha on so his face is hidden and everyone else is yelling our names and stuff and he's ignoring us - ME!!
Anyway, he's lucky he was a recently returned missionary. So we all hug and then me Kyle and Trev take a seperate car so we can be...cool? I don't know. I guess the parents needed some time to talk about us or something. And actually it wasn't that bad of a ride for me and Trevor. We talked the whole way home! Gosh I love my little brother. He's so cool! And you have to realize that Kyle had NEVER been so quiet before in his life. So I knew that he was like 10 times more nervous than me.

So luckily it got a little better as time went on. Well the next day my mom was taking their family pictures. So Tracey needed to find matching shirts (why she didn't think of that before midnight I don't know) but her my mom and Kassidi decided to go to WalMart. All the men (AKA my dad, gerard, Kyle Devin) decided to bond over a movie. I'm not a big fan of movies and if you know me I am a huge fan of WalMart. So I picked WalMart. Well as we are leaving Tracey (bless her heart) says "why don't you stay with Kyle?" Now I probably should have because I was there for him and he was nervous but I was kind of bugged by him that this hott babe flew 1500 miles FOR HIM and he decides to watch a movie. So instead I say to Tracey " he's watching a movie. I can't talk to him anyway." I had a lot of fun at WalMart with Kassidi so it was all good.

I'm gonna stop right here and start a new post cause this one is getting long and it was only the first 5 hours of the weekend. haha... but it gets real juicy coming up!

The Letters - Viva Las Vegas (West Mission)

Ok, I know I have been doing a lot of updating but I want to be able to write about other things too! So I am trying to finish it up today!
So Kyle just left on his mission and I sent my first letter...
There are so many things that I could say about the letters we wrote. I have all of my letters saved in two 1 inch 3 ring binders! I love those things! I used to pull those out and read them like a book when I was bored. Kyle saved most of the letters. I'm guessing a few got lost throughout all the moves and such but he also put them all in a 3 ring binder and saved them! That made me very happy! (although some of them are still saved on my computer anyway...)
Las Vegas is not that far away so the least amount of time that it took to get a letter back was 6 days. example: I send a letter on Monday (day 1). Kyle gets it on Wednesday (day 3). He sends one on Thursday (day 4). I get it on Saturday (day 6). Now, the majority of the time that did not happen but I will admit that as soon as the 6th day hit, I was at the mail box. And then I went to the mailbox everyday until I got a letter. Then the cycle would start all over again! Some days when I was desperate, there may have been 3 or 4 trips to the mailbox and some days I would bribe my siblings to go check the mail again!
OH! I just remembered a funny story. So this one time it had been about 3 weeks since I had gotten a letter. That was a little bit longer than normal so I was dying to get one! My sister Aubree went and got the mail that day. She comes into my room (I was totally playing it cool like I hadn't noticed she went to the mail box) when she walks in my room, casually says, "Kayla you got a letter!... (my face lights up and I smile real big when she says) ...Its from Chase."
Now for anyone that didn't make the connection. Chase is not a nick name, nor a secret lover that I had at the time. No Chase is my bank and 'He' was sending me my monthly statement. Talk about a major let down. And man, what a terrible thing for my sister to do to my heart! Haha... but luckily I was not mad at her and I was able to laugh at it...
One time I got a letter that included a "Dating Application" there were about 100 questions that ranged from "Do you know how to cook?" to "How many boys have you kissed?" to "What is your ring size?" to "When would you be availiable to start dating?" I thought this was pretty funny but my family, now they got a real kick out of this application. So one night we all sat down and together we filled out this application. It was pretty funny! I will list a few other questions from the application:

• Does your dad own a gun?
• Can your siblings be bribed?
• What kind of cars do you like?
• How many years of college have you completed?
• Describe your perfect honeymoon:
• Can you sew?
• How many kids do you eventually want to have?
• List some of your favorite date ideas:

Etc... I think you get the point! Needless to say, it was awesome!

Now, some of you may be wondering when I realized I liked him or loved him. If you had asked me this question while we were writing this would have been my answer:

Do I like him? As much as you can like a person through pieces of paper, ya I like him. Do I know if I will date him? I don't know... he could be totally different in person than he is on paper. Didn't I know him before his mission though? Ya but the last time we talked had been a year before and he could be a totally different guy! Well, I think you get the point. I liked the Kyle on the paper but wanted to make sure I liked the real thing! As for the 'love' part, I'll let you know when that part of the story comes!

So Kyle got home November 4th 2009. My parents flew with me to Missouri on November 13th to visit him... And that is what will be next!

• Can you say "Awkward?"
• Can you say "Boyfriend?"
• The Proposal
• PAIN!!
• ???

The Reuniting

First off, a couple weeks ago my sister cut my hair for me. I cut off about six inches. So I need about half the amount of shampoo/conditioner to wash it. The problem is that I keep forgetting that until I starting washing my hair... Anyway, I just thought I'd let you all know that!
So I know this is two stories in a day but I really want to get the whole story down!
At this point in time Angela is engaged to Greg to be married June 29th, so Kyle is totally free for the taking. Also Kyle was working on his mission papers. He would turn 19 on June 24, 2007. He turns in his papers and then a few weeks later gets his call. When he called our family to tell us, me and Angela were actually not there so we found out from my parents. He was called to serve in the Las Vegas West Mission. Nice. Only 6 hours away!
Well as many of you know, it is a common thing for girls to write missionaries in hopes to find your true love! Or just for fun. Plus it makes the missionaries feel pretty good about themselves! So Kyle left on October 31st 2007. I didn't go to his farewell (it was in MO), I hadn't talked to him since the previous December. I was a senior in high school. going on dates (not that many) going to dances, parties, ya know, the usual. Well, I had no intentions of writing Kyle. Apparently everyone else thought otherwise...
Day after day I was reminded that I needed to send Kyle a letter. And day after day I didn't. My mom actually wrote him more than I did! It was the first week of December when my mom got the letter. She had told Kyle that I didn't like my job (at Golden Spoon). He wrote back and said to tell me that I needed to suck it up. What a jerk! I had to write back and defend myself!
So for the next two weeks I tried to write a letter that said more than this:
"Kyle. I am not a wimp. I am allowed to not like my job because, it is boring. So take that."
My mom told me that it wasn't a good enough letter. I don't remember what it ended up saying but it was about one page long, nothing on the back. It took him about 3 weeks to right back (which is exceptable).
So now that you know how we were reunited after a year of no communication. I will end this post. Next post: The letters!

• The Letters - Viva Las Vegas (West Mission)
• Can you say "Awkward?"
• Can you say "Boyfriend?"
• The Proposal
• PAIN!!!
• ???

The Couch Ripping

First off, this is my first Christmas Tree! Me and Kyle picked it out ourselves! Its about four and a half feet tall! And its the best tree I have ever owned!So next we will travel to December of '06... Kyle's family always goes to their grandparents house in California for Christmas. So this year they decided to stop by for a few days on their way back home! Well they had been in the car for several hours and were all very glad to be getting out. And one thing that you can always count on when we get together is late nighters. Anywhere from one AM to three AM...
So Kyle, being very hyper, was running around the house chasing everyone and just being plane crazy! He ran down the hall and leaped onto the couch and somehow managed to rip the corner of the couch! Well these were fairly new couches - leather couches - that my parents got a smokin' deal on. So my mom wasn't mad at Kyle but she certainly hasn't ever let him forget it!
Well the parents sent me Kyle and Trev to WalMart (it was only midnight) to see if we could find a needle and thread to fix it. I know how to sew but admittingly did not know what an apholstry needle was (one of those curved ones). To top it off I was with Trev and Kyle and they had no idea what we were doing. So we did the best we could at picking out the thread and needle. Basically it didn't work and the couch to this day is still ripped. And slowly ripping more. My mom tells him that marrying me made up for the rip in her couch, but only half way forgiven!
Well, we also had left over chocolate from our chocolate fountain. So we warmed up the chocolate and all gathered around to scarf down on it! I'm pretty sure we were up until three in the morning just hanging and talking and joking and basically having a blast!
So we all go to bed, and I'm sleeping very well up in my room. It was quiet and dark and very relaxing! Well I was in that point between sleep and waking up and I thought someone said my name but I just ignored it, when all of the sudden Kyle jumps on top of me on my bed and shakes my shoulders and yells "WE'RE HAVING PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST!!! COME DOWN!"
Freaked. Me. Out. And then he was gone! It took me a few minutes to register what had happened but eventually I came to and headed downstairs...
A few days later my mom told me that Kyle had gone up to her and asked if it was safe to wake me up. She thought it was kind of a weird question but told me I didn't really get mad when people woke me up so it should be fine. Then Kyle says "No, I mean, will she be decent?" HAHAHA... I thought that was pretty awesome how he thought to check. Luckily I loved pajamas, so I fortunetly woke up to Kyle!
Well, that was a good couple of days! But that will be the end of this story!
I hope you are all still enjoying! I hope I am not posting them too fast!

• The Reuniting
• Viva Las Vegas (West Mission)
• Can you say "Awkward?"
• Can you say "Boyfriend?"
• The Proposal
• PAIN!!!
• ???

Pick Up Lines

I figured out how to add pictures to my blog! Go ME!
I'm determined to get this whole story down by the end of the week! So expect one story a day! (but don't hold me to it!) I left off after a night alone...
One morning I woke up and went upstairs to eat breakfast. Tracey was at the table and started talking to me and Ang. Apparently their AC had gone out so they needed to get it fixed! She was teaching water arobics at the local YMCA and my mom and Ang were going with her. Gerard was at work and me and Kyle were the only ones left there that could drive.
Kyle had to run a few errands anyway so he drove his car with me following. I was pretty stoked about getting to go spend some time alone with him (I really wasn't trying to steal him from my sister. But he was hott. and funny!) So we're driving along and there are no CD's in the van to listen to. I'm in Missouri so I had no idea what station radio Disney was on. So I'm looking in the glove box and I find a cassett tape! haha, those things are great! It was a Britney Spears tape. Basically I was stoked to find some music that I knew! So I'm jamming out to Britney and feeling really cool when we arrive at the shop. So we drop the van off and take off in his car. We had to stop to pick up a prescription and then drop it off at Walgreens. So we were just listening to music and driving along. it was great! (I was secretly falling in love. but don't tell anyone!!)
So we get back and the G's have a swim meet! So we all squeeze in the cars and head to the meet! I was so inspired watching them all swim! And Tracey was talking to me the whole time nd telling me I should try swim out and I was thinking "You're crazy! I haven't ever been on a swim team! I would be terrible!). But I wanted to join so bad! So I called up my friend Haley Jorgensen when we got back home. She had been trying to get me to join all summer. She gave me the info and that was that. I had joined the swim team! CRAZY!
So the last night we were going to be staying at the Gonthier home was an eventful night! I am pretty sure we went and got Fritz's early in the day -INSERT- Kyle wants you all to know that Fritz's is actually Frozen Custard not ice cream...my B!
Well I love ice cream and it makes me hyper! So I was going crazy the rest of the night! Someone decided to put in Elf (which I learned that night is one of Kyles favorite movies). Well I started trying to balance my body on my arms on my knees. I don't really know how to explain it. Its actually some yoga move I found out later but its legit... So after I started trying to balance everyone else did...then it turned into a dog pile or something and the parents got in on it. It was fun!
So the next day we left to go to Nauvoo! This was not in the original trip plans but we are the spontaneous type! The Gonthiers decided to come too! but Kyle and Gerard weren't able to make it. They had work... So we hop in the cars and drive! and drive! and drive! it was about ten o clock at night and our mothers finally realized that we were all hungry! So we went to IHOP! YUMMY!!!!!! While we were waiting for our food to come and drinking chocolate milk, Trev started texting Kyle from their moms phone. Somehow I got Kyle's cell number that night and started texting him on my own!
We texted the whole next day and eventually got into this conversation of pick up lines! We kept saying them back and forth and I was totally in denial about the fact that we were flirting. I just kept thinking, "Why would someone as cool as Kyle be interested as someone so young and silly as me!?"
Well thats about the end of this part of the story... not too much excitement. Except that I really liked Kyle at this point but was certainly in denial about it! Besides, he was Angela's betrothed! I wouldn't ever get him anyway. AND he lived in Missouri! so after leaving and returning back home, I had left my silly crush behind.
The end (for now)

• The Couch Ripping
• The Reuniting
• Viva Las Vegas (West Mission)
• Can you say "Awkward?"
• Can you say "Boyfriend?"
• The Proposal
• PAIN!!
• ???

Funnel Cake Fixes Broken Hearts

Well here you go! I am updating this at 12:14 AM for all my adoring fans! your sweet pleadings to hear my story made me very happy! I had no idea people would actually follow my blog when I started this! THANK YOU FOLLOWERS. You complete me! =)
OK, so we left off on Angela just arriving...I believe that the next day we ended up going to a waterpark. I feel like it was a 45 minute drive. Kyle, Trevor, Ang and me rode in one car and the rest of the gang in the Astro van! It was a nice drive. I rememer being so amazed at how different (and by different I mean green) that Missouri is from Arizona. So we get to the water park and its pretty legit. Its on the side of a hill so there would be one water ride to your left and then a steep uphill climb to the next slide to your right. Also, the ground was hot so we had to run from grass patch to grass patch. But I'm pretty sure my feet still got fried!
There was a wave pool (like Big Surf or Sun Splash) and then a kiddie pool that had a water play ground. then probably like 6 or 7 slides (I actually dont have a clue how many but 6 sounds good) So at first, me, Trev, Ang and Kyle were all together. we went on several rides and such just hanging out, being cool teenagers with two hot guys by our sides - more like two hot girls by THEIR sides ;) Eventually we ended up in the kiddie pool watching Devin for a while so our moms could go revisit their past teenage days of their own water parks.
When they came back we decided to go to the lazy river. Well apparently Trevor is actually not a lazy person and wanted to not ride the lazy river. So it was just me ang and Kyle.
(WARNING: this is where it gets sketchy)
So after we had been around a few times I was readjusting in my innertube. Well I had a much more slender figure at the time and somehow managed to slip out of my inner tube BUTT FIRST! I was kind of embarrassed at first but then I realized that Kyle thought it was funny.
Then all of the sudden this new feeling came over me. At first I was confused. Then flustered. Then nervous. For this new feeling that I had just experienced was the urge to flirt!
(Disclaimer: I had not ever consciously flirted before this point in time.)
So everytime we went past this miniature waterfall I slipped out of my inner tube. Until about 5 times around (don't judge, we were REALLY lazy) I was slipping out on purpose. Then all of the sudden Ang and Kyle started plotting on how to get me out of the inner tube. Basically, it just developed into more flirting. Thus, my first (of very few) flirting sessions.
So we get out of the lazy river and Kyle has to leave. He's got to go to work. I surprised myself by being genuinely sad that he had to leave. Honestly it kind of put a damper on my day! So me and Angela went and bought a funnel cake. That was actually a real good desicion cause dang those things are delish! Trevor found us a few minutes later so he joined in on the funnel cake feast. Kyle leaving turned out not to be such a bad thing. We still had a great time!
(I just debated for a few minutes whether or not to post more and I decided I would tell you the story of "A night alone")
Ok, so I don't know if my readers have been to Bahama Bucks but it is a shaved ice place that is REALLY thinly shaved ice and it is delicous! So one night Tracey decided to take us all there. But at this point in time I was actually not a fan of shaved ice so decided to stay home. (I was also still a little sun tired from being at the water park all day). Well apparently Kyle wasn't in to shaved ice either! so we both ended up being home alone. So we kissed.
Just kidding!
Actually it went like this. Kyle sat on the couch watching Robin Hood (the real people one) and I thought it was stupid. So I got on the computer and just messed around. Well like ten minutes later this kid pops his head in the back door and is like: "Wheres Kyle?" and I'm like "uuuhh... who are you?" Then realied that it didn't matter who he was cause I still wouldn't know if he said his name. So I called Kyle into the other room.
It was a few of his buddys. I guess one of them had fallen and hurt himself or something pathetic and needed a bandaid. So they all go upstairs and ignore me so I made something to eat. Then like ten minutes later they came back down and one of them was like: "Dude, wanna see something blow up?" Kyles like "Sure. [to me] Wanna come?" I'm thinking this sounds stupid "sure..." So we go out back and it ends up being really stupid but then Kyle talked to me until our families got back home so I am forever thankful for those weird friends who got us talking.
So that is the story for today! I really hope it wasn't too long for ya! I've still got a long way to go! but now that its 12:52 AM, I'm going to bed!
Next time: Ice Cream + Kayla + Elf = Hyper craziness! Also, Nauvoo and pick up lines =)
Heres a little schedule of whats left to write!:
December of '06 - The Couch Ripping
October of '07 to December of '07 - The reuniting
January of '08 to November of '09 - Viva Las Vegas (West Mission)
November 4th to December 26th - Can you say "Awkward?"
December 26th to February 11th - Can you say "Boyfriend?"
February 11th to February 15th - The proposal
February 15th to May 17th - PAIN!!
May 17th to now! - ???

The nicknames origin

Sorry this has taken so long to get back to! I honestly just forgot that I had a Blog until my dear friend Tara reminded me that she needed to hear the rest of my story! Thanks Tara! Haha
Ok so we left off in June of 2003...
Over the next few years things like MySpace, Facebook, and cell phones would become huge competitors in the social contact world. It took me a while to get in to each of them but once I did I sought out long lost friends! (I only had a MySpace for a few months. My dad asked me to delete it cause of all the creepers out there. I figured that was a reasonable reason, so I did!)
I didn't join Facebook until I was a Junior in high school, it really confused me why I needed a place to look at everyones pictures. Now, its like my favorite thing to update my status with some clever saying! Anyway, I digress (which is something you will come to notice about me)
I didn't even think about finding the Gonthiers at first. It was only after reviewing my sister Angela's page (A.K.A. Facebook stalking her) that I rediscovered Trevor and Kyle.
Not that this was a significant step in either relationship... all it really did was make my friend count go up by two - at the time! Who knew that later these facebook friendships would become my lifeline to my future family-in-law.
(disclaimer: This is where the story gets sketchy (not really), detailed, and real long!)
So we come to July of 2006. I am now a dating, driving texting teenager! Very very exciting! My dear father was unable to come with us on this trip (sort of) we took a picture of him, blew it up a little bit and glued it to a piece of cardboard and named him Pappa. We took him everywhere with us on that trip! It was very fun! I wish I had a few pictures saved on my computer, but alas, I don't think that I do! My dear sister Angela was also not able to make it (at first) so we made her a mini-me as well!
This time around we decided to drive! its only a 22-24 hour drive so, no biggie! At this point in time my mom had become obsessed with her camera. So as she drove I began taking pictures of everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! Construction cones, Billboards, run down houses, water towers, semi-trucks, road kill, grass, cows, clouds, etc... I must say that somewhere in between Oklahoma and Missouri we experienced THE COOLEST thunder storm I have ever seen. I'm not kidding, it was literally a circle of lightening all around us. Every where you looked you could see lightening! and plus, it was raining the whole time! Unfortunetly, the rain was annoying to drive in and my mom was tired so we were forced to stop and get some rest about 6 or 7 hours away from the Gonthiers. LAME!
Anyway, we got up the next morning and drove to the G's. We arrived I'd say around 4 O'clock-ish. Everyone was home but Gerard and Kyle. We sat around the table talking and having a good time! Gerard got home and joined in the fun! Then Kyle arrived not long after! I don't remember exactly but I'm sure we went to Fritz's that night!
So the next day I wake up and go upstairs. All the kids are in the family room watchin TV, so I join them! A few minutes later Kyle gets home from swim practice and he's wearing this crazy weird shirt! It looked as if he cut a hole from his arm pit all the way down to the hem at the bottom of the shirt, which is probably because thats exactly what he did! haha Well, not that it was much of a shirt to begin with, he took his shirt off. Then he asks, "Hey what do you guys want for breakfast?, Pancakes? Chocolate chip pancakes? Cool." So he goes and starts making pancakes. The whole time I'm sitting there thinking "That is the CUTEST thing I have ever seen. An 18 year guy makes breakfast for all of his siblings + my family. And not only are they pancakes, they have chocolate chips in them. AND he's not wearing a shirt!" That was the moment I fell in love! But not really love, I just thought it was super attractive!
Anyway, we decided to go to this place called the City Museum. I can not even begin to describe the awesome-ness of this place! Its like a giant playground for adults (and kids). All I can say is if you are ever in St Louis, you can not miss this adventure! (image from Google)

Well lets see, Kyle and Gerard had work so me and Trevor got to hang out the whole day... super fun! We had great time! Again, I wish I had pictures on here from that day!
After the museum I called Angela to tell her about the pancake incident. You see, Angela was betrothed to Kyle as you may recall and I found this to be a vital piece of information. She was so sad she wasn't there with us! We were sad about not having Ang and Dad with us. Dad still wouldn't be able to come cause of work but we ended up flying Ang out there that night! I was super excited! So with Gerard in the passenger seat, Trevor (with his permit) in the drivers seat and me and Kyle fearing for the safety of our lives, in the back, we drove to the airport to pick up my dear sister! Of course we stopped at Fritz's on the way home to bond over ice cream.

I warned you guys that this was a long story! and I have a very keen memory so yes, you will be getting all of the details!

Stay tuned to hear about a night alone, a trip to the water park and a trip to Nauvoo. =)

My Love Story

I've decided to write down me and Kyle's story...just in case anyone cares to know it!
Lets see, I actually don't remember the first time I met Kyle because it was way back in the beginning of 1998. I was 8 and Kyle was 10.
I have a lot of faint memories of hanging out with the Gonthier family. They were in our ward in Redlands CA and so I'm guessing that the friendship was formed some time during church between our parents.
Gonthiers: Gerard, Tracey, Kyle, Trevor, Mallory, Kassidi, Devin
Jarvis': Jim, Sandra, Angela, Kayla, Colin, Jereme, Aubree
Our parents, being the geniuses that they are, devised a plan to have each of us eventually marry the kid our age in the other family, therefore creating only one set of in-laws that they had to deal with for the rest of their lives.
We used to do all kinds of crazy things with the Gonthiers. Our favorite and most prominent memory though is when Kyle and Trevor would come over and we would create haunted houses in me and Angelas bedroom and then force our parents and siblings to go through the 'very scary' haunted houses. Aww the good ol' days...
In August of 2000 the Gonthier parents decided it would be best for them to move across the country to live in Missouri. Now, while I can say I wasn't in love with Trevor (my betrothed) or Kyle (my future hubby) at this point in time, this dear family had come to be important and special friends to me and I was sad to see them go. Luckily, our parents had formed an inseberable bond, determined to be in-laws someday!
So thats what brings us to June 2003. My family of 7 hopped on a plane and flew the 3 hour flight to Missouri. Our tummies nervous with anxiety to see our long lost friends! We arrive late at night and as tradition has it, we stop at Fritz's (the best ice cream shop) on the way to the Gonthier residence. This is always a good way to get reunited and reacquainted with each other. Food has a way of bringing friendships back!
We had a wonderful time in MO. We went and saw lots of exciting things, one of which included the St Louis Arch:

Devin, Jereme, Trevor, Colin, Kyle, Angela, Kayla, Mallory, Kassidi, Aubree.

Awww!! Look how cute we are! I don't remember many more specifics of this trip, just that I had a lot of fun and I really didn't want to go home! I knew I would miss my friends but I guess vacations can't last forever!

To be continued... (yes this is a long story)

There is a first for everything!

So I have decided that I will start this 'blog' thing! I enjoy reading others occasionally and with my family now spread out across the country I guess it will be good for people to keep up with me and Kyles really very interesting lives - if you want! And if nothing else, it will be a place to document things that have happened for our posterity!

At work today we had a Halloween potluck and costume party! The catergories to win two movie tickets were best group and best individual. As part of the accounting group and part of the Delta team, I was in a tough spot to decide whos group to dress up as!

But ALAS! I found the perfect costume that solved my problem:

Bowser for Delta dressed as Mario characters:

A Rat for Accounting dressed as Rats and an exterminator!:

Its weird because sometimes I feel self concious about strange things. I don't usually worry about what people think about me but sometimes I get nervous around people I don't know too well. I don't know why I was nervous to walk around with this costume on in the office that I work in everyday!

Its silly that we sometimes underestimate ourselves. I love the part in the movie Enchanted when the prince is asked "Sire, do you...like yourself?" in which he replies: "Whats not to like!" Why is it that we don't all have that confidence? Or at least why does it sometimes take a few hours to become comfotable with ourselves in certain situations? Why would it be so difficult for me to walk up to someone and introduce myself?

I suppose that its good we aren't all completely confident with ourselves or else what would we have to learn? And how boring would that be if we always knew what everyone was going to be like before we even met them? Maybe we should all try to take a little extra time to get to know people we associate with instead of shying away. I suppose our Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he created us all so differently!